Tools for 2006
Technology to Consider in the New Year

Resolve to provide better customer service with technology.

BY MIKE ANTONIAK

The start of the New Year invites predictions about what’s ahead on every front, including technology. But with new technology offerings constantly seeking your attention, it can be daunting to determine what you should invest in. Here’s a short list of the technology you should consider using in the New Year:

• Smartphones. As more smartphones hit the market, it’ll get harder to resist carrying an all-in-one handheld as your mobile office. Realistically, what more do you need in the field than a phone, your contact database, and quick access to e-mail and the Web? A camera? Well, that’ll be a feature or option, too, on many newer models.
  
• Notebook PCs. Even with a smartphone, there may be situations in the field when you may want the full-power, bigger-screen convenience of a notebook computer. Prices will continue to fall to the point where every real estate professional should have a notebook, either as your primary system or a second mobile PC.
  
• Apple with Intel. This year, and possibly as early as this month, Apple Computer will start rolling out its first computer models using Intel processors. If, as some speculate, it’ll be possible to run both the Apple and Windows operating systems on these machines, Apple’s innovative technology could become a more practical and attractive platform for real estate professionals.
  
• GPS. Global positioning systems, and the time-saving point-to-point directions they provide, are destined for broad deployment in real estate. Besides car navigation systems, GPS systems are available in handheld units, software/accessory bundles for laptops and PDAs, and some cellular services.
  
• Multimedia. Broadband, digital camcorders, and the audio/video record capabilities found in new camera phones and smartphones have set the stage for greater use of multimedia in real estate. What remains to be seen is how multimedia can be most effectively employed. Multimedia desktop presentations? Video tours? Infomercials for buyers and sellers? Promotional testimonials from satisfied clients? All these uses are possible this year.
  
• VoIP. Although the potential savings on long-distance calls initially attract consumers to voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP), the Web-based telephone service, it’s the features that ultimately sell the service. For real estate professionals, Web-based call management and new features, such as find me/follow me and voicemail-to-e-mail conversion, ensure all calls get through so you can provide the timely response today’s consumers expect.
  
• Instant Messaging. Add this to the communications options you may want to support, especially if you work with younger consumers. They’ve embraced this conferencing channel that combines the informality of e-mail with the immediacy of voice calling. Consider IM carefully, though: Once you encourage clients to use this channel to reach you, you’re obligated to respond, in real time.
  
• Web-based Software. Although the concept has been around for some time with products such as Top Producer 7i, virtual software—available anywhere, anytime over the Web—got a big boost with Microsoft’s launch of “live” versions of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office (see Tech Watch: Windows, Office Go 'Live' , Nov. 21, 2005). Other vendors will surely follow that lead.
  
• Data Storage and Security. The shift to a Web-based workspace and increased reliance on wireless technologies underscore the need for a back-up and security strategy. Although virus and security threats will remain unwanted aspects of mobile communications and computing, the tools to minimize their impact are available in affordable, high-capacity data storage solutions, biometric security devices, and firewall and encryption software. Your biggest risks are not accepting personal responsibility for ensuring important files are always backed up in two locations and not protecting sensitive data and communications against unauthorized access.
  
  A Side Note
  
  A few weeks ago, a reader informed me that quotes from this column, taken out of context, were used with attribution in a marketing e-mail to promote a particular product. I immediately contacted the offending company, and it complied with my request to pull my name and quotes from its e-mail.
  
  The incident raises a couple of issues:
  
• Product Information. Nothing that appears in this column should be misconstrued as a recommendation or review of any product or service. What I try to accomplish in this column is to keep you informed about technology tools and trends that may bring practical benefits to your real estate career. Sometimes the focus is on a new solution or tool that could have wider implications; be a roundup of product announcements to keep you abreast of the latest advances; or highlight how one company has made innovative use of technology in ways you might want to emulate. The intent always is to inform, not endorse.
  
• Spam. Like many of you, I get a daily dose of spam from real estate companies and professionals who mistakenly distribute it as a cost-effective form of marketing. I resent receiving it, as I’m sure you do, and I simply won’t use the services or investigate the product of any company that employs spam to contact me.
  
• Advice. Throughout the year, I receive a lot of e-mail from readers. Some seek specific recommendations on equipment such as a camera or notebook PC. If you’ve posed one of these queries, you should know that I don’t make a practice of singling out any one product or vendor. I simply lack the resources to review every product to make a fair recommendation.
  
  More important, finding the right technology is much like buying a car. The best match for you depends on your personal style and where you place your priorities in terms of price, features, and functions. I can point you to some choices, but only you can make the final determination.
  
  With that understanding, I look forward to hearing from you and hope to continue to make this column a useful resource in 2006.